Chapter 3

Olivia's eyes reddened as she spoke. "I never thought you'd be so down and out after leaving the Gonzalez Pack. Amber, come home.

"Mom, Dad, and Ethan might still have some complaints about you, but if I speak up, they definitely won't hold your mistake against you."

I shot her a cold look and asked, "What mistake of mine are they holding against me?"

She faltered, unable to name a single thing I'd done wrong. After a moment, she grasped at straws and said, trying to sound righteous, "You talked back to Mom and Dad. Isn't that enough?"

I chuckled. "When did I talk back to them? Mom said I was too controlling, so I handed the Gonzalez Pack's finances back to her. Dad told me to take a break, so I stepped down as the Alpha.

"Ethan said I was meddling too much, so I stopped getting involved in his business. You wanted to be with Adam, and I didn't stand in your way. I moved out because that's what you all wanted me to do.

"So, tell me, what did I do wrong?"

She was left speechless by my words, biting her lip as her cheeks turned bright red.

Adam took a deep breath and finally spoke up. "Amber, I know Olivia and I messed up and hurt you first. But it's been so long. It's time to let it go. Come home."

Was that pack really my home? Or did they simply wanted me to go back and be their servant?

Olivia's eyes flickered as she pretended to be kind. "Since you've been gone, Adam's taken over as Alpha of the Gonzalez Pack. He's doing pretty well. The Elder Council is pretty impressed with him.

"You've been away for three months, and the pack isn't the same anymore. If you want to come back, you'll probably have to start out as a junior employee.

"But Adam could pull some strings for you. He might even get you promoted to Beta."

I didn't see a shred of kindness in her gentle smile, just pure scheming.

She must've forgotten I was the one who gave up the Alpha position in the Gonzalez Pack. If I didn't care about being the Alpha, why would I ever settle for a mere Beta spot?

Besides, after I left the Gonzalez Pack, packs everywhere had been reaching out, throwing offers my way.

If Olivia knew what those headhunters were offering me, she'd probably lose her mind with jealousy.

I replied coolly, "No thanks. An exceptional promotion would undermine Adam's authority as the Alpha. You should find someone else."

But Olivia didn't seem to catch the sarcasm in my words.

She hurried after me and said, "You're right, Amber. As the Alpha of the Gonzalez Pack, Adam has to be fair and aboveboard. It really wouldn't be appropriate to give you any special treatment.

"Why don't you stick by Adam as a Beta for now? You could help him with paperwork, draft some project proposals, and handle pack logistics or whatever. That way, nobody could say a thing."

Adam chimed in, "For the sake of appearances, I think Amber could start out working remotely. Once she's proven herself, I can make her Beta status official. What do you think, Olivia?"

Olivia nodded repeatedly.

I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous this was.

They didn't mention the salary at all, and they weren't even offering me a real job title. They were simply expecting me to handle their project planning and decide the pack's future.

How could these two be so shameless?

Before I could say anything, Olivia had already pulled some papers out of her bag and shoved them at me.

"Amber, don't say I never look out for you. This might be your only shot at getting back into the Gonzalez Pack, so make the most of it," she said.

Adam chimed in, "Amber, give it your all. I hope you can devote yourself wholeheartedly to your work and achieve something big.

"If you manage to bring in 3 million dollars in profit for the pack within six months, maybe your parents will finally forgive you. Then Ethan and the rest of us can finally let you back in."

Looking at Adam putting on that fake gentleman act, I couldn't believe I was ever blind enough to think he was some honest, dependable guy worth trusting.

Thank god Olivia took him off my hands. If I'd actually ended up mated to a guy like that, I'd probably be sick to my stomach every single day.

Maybe because I was being too cold, Olivia frowned. "Amber, Adam and I are really thinking about you here. Why are you looking at us like that?"

I said flatly, "Because you two are idiots."

Olivia was stunned. "Amber, why are you talking like that?"

I scoffed, "Because I'm talking to two jerks."

Adam stepped in front of Olivia, shielding her. "Amber, what do you mean?"

I raised my voice and pointed at the door. "Get out. I can't stand the sight of you."

They stared at me, eyes wide in disbelief. "Amber, how did you turn into this?"

I sneered, "You really want to know how I turned into this? You drove me to it.

"You can't write a project plan yourselves, so you come begging for my help. And you act all high and mighty, like you're doing me a favor. Honestly, even professional gaslighters could learn a thing or two from you two."

"Olivia, Adam, you two and anyone else from the Gonzalez Pack should stay the hell away from me. Seeing anyone of you makes me sick."

They were still trying to argue.

But I called over the workers in my factory and had them toss the two right out the door.

Then I slapped a sign on the factory entrance: [Jerks and Gonzalez Pack members are not allowed.]